Walking Through Darkness
by BlackBlood12
Summary: In Annabeth's hometown there lies the darkest of secrets; tied together by a family, a curse, and the devil. Annabeth soons finds that the her annoyingly normal life will be turned upside down, all because of the new boy with sea green eyes... AU. No demigods. Magic.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

Annabeth really hated Mondays.

They were all the same: wake up; shower; go to school. Nothing out of the ordinary - which too many would seem almost like a relief – but not to Annabeth. She was different from all the other fake, blonde-haired bimbos of this town, bragging about their latest manicure and pedicure. She, one the other hand, wanted to see the world; to walk along the wall of china, to gawk at the Arc De Triomphe, to feel the cold wind of Alaska blowing in her face.

Many thought it was a fool's dream (ironic, really, in context) – that once you're in Burgess, you stay in Burgess. It was like her mother always said: "Those who want to stay in Burgess are damned people, Annabeth, damned people," which was quickly found out to be true. It had been years since anyone 'new' turned up, and even longer since someone actually left. It was a hole, really - a big, giant, metaphorical hole of a town.

Sighing, Annabeth got out of bed. Like she said, every day was the same, which meant walking across her overly immaculate bedroom and into her own bathroom to get ready for school.

While she hated Mondays - and despised all the girls who only tried to look their best at school - she still didn't want to look like she'd just gotten out of bed. Getting into the shower, she let the warm water wash away the last of her dreariness as it slapped against her fair skin.

After about ten minutes, she decided that the water had done its job: her feeling awake and rejuvenated. She yanked a towel of its rack, dried herself off, before wrapping the towel tightly around her chest. She then walked back in to her room, heading straight towards the wardrobe. Donning a simple white shirt with an owl printed on the front, and dark washed jeans, Annabeth made her way to the front door. She didn't bother having breakfast as it would mean further confrontation with her family – something she didn't have the time for.

The cold morning air hit Annabeth like a wall, making her blink several times in rapid succession. Shutting the door, she made her way across the patio and waited on the pavement casually, already spotting the black convertible rolling down the street. _There's a storm coming_, Annabeth thought, looking at the black clouds hanging low in the sky.

The car stopped in front of Annabeth, who got in quickly, throwing her bag in first, before climbing in. Greeted by the warm air of the car, Annabeth turned toward her one friend in all of Burgess: Thalia. A terrible cross between a punk and a fairy, Thalia looked like she'd tear you apart with her electric blue eyes and pixie cut hair. Beautiful in a rouged way, she looked like she'd obliterate you with her continuous verbal abuse or her punches. It truly was incredible that these two were friends, what with her being a bookworm with curly blonde hair and dull grey eyes, and her being a terrifying goddess in disguise.

"Honestly, it's a surprise that you've still got flesh on those bones of yours, Annabeth, with the amount of breakfast's you miss every week." Thalia said in greeting, once she got settled in.

"You know that I don't like eating with my family, especially after dad's had one of his … _Moments_." She replied immediately, reaching for her bag on the floor and taking out any random book.

It was a well-known fact around town that Annabeth's dad was a famous inventor. What wasn't as well-known was that if one of his inventions didn't work, he'd quite literally trash the place in fury. It surprised Annabeth to this day that no-one apart from her and a few close family friends (A.K.A. No-one) knew about this; the ones who did were convinced that they should let the authorities take care of him.

After all, Burgess was a small town – large enough that no-body knew everyone, but small enough that any noteworthy gossip would pass like wildfire– and this type of information would spread particularly badly.

"Well good, 'cause I got you some food from Sandy's for you" Thalia said, nodding towards a greasy bag wedged between the seat and a lever.

Sandy's was the only fast food and takeout restaurant in the entire town, known for its bad hygiene and worse food. Several high schooler's had complained about indigestion and food poisoning from the place, yet it remained open for some reason.

"Great," Annabeth muttered, "now I can die of food poisoning instead of starvation, _yay_." It seemed as though Thalia heard her, as she barked out a laugh.

"Well at least then you can blame someone else for your death, instead of yourself."

"How would I be able to blame anyone for my death – I'd be dead" She snapped, her voice laced with sarcasm. Thalia shrugged, before turning on the radio. Thinking it was the end of the conversation; Annabeth opened up her book – 'the Great Gatsby'– to the correct page and began reading.

Before she could read more than a word, however, Thalia spoke up again. "Did you hear about the new kid?" She asked, turning her head slightly in Annabeth's direction, though keeping her eyes intently on the road.

"I heard from Rachel that the guy's a part of the Jackson's – out of town or something."

The news made Annabeth frown slightly. Living in the secluded evergreen forests that encase Burgess like a capsule, the Jackson's were like the living legends of the town: no-one saw them; no-one talked to them; no-one even knows the last time they'd been spotted in town.

Owning the forest and the lake that surrounded Burgess meant that they were pretty feared and, as such, many people disliked them. Loathed would be a better term, with people spreading vile rumours about them being Satan worshipers and murdering their own children in pagan rituals.

Annabeth hated it, really, finding it incredible narrow-minded and just dumb – and so did Thalia. It was one of the reasons why they were friends - how they were against judging people whom they haven't met. Another one being an inescapable yearn for adventure.

Yet the information was still enough to make Annabeth state a fact that literally everyone in town knew: "I thought that they hadn't been spotted in years? Hell, I didn't even know that they had a son!"

Thalia nodded her head in agreement, "Nor did anyone else; the committee's been whining about it ever since they found out he's a Jackson. I mean, what does it matters that he's a Jackson! He's still a person, can still breath and all that – so what if his families a bit socially awkward? It doesn't mean he's any less of a person than any of us." Annabeth smiled slightly at the last bit.

"If anything, he'd probably be more human than half the school - what with everybody being, like ¾ plastic and ¼ human." Both of the girls laughed wholeheartedly.

Silence followed again, and like before was broken by Thalia wondering whether they new guy would be hot or not. Annabeth sighed, quickly putting the book back in her bag, knowing that there was no point in reading when school was literally thirty seconds away. "I have no idea, it's not like I've met the guy before today…" she mumbled, more to herself than to Thalia.

"What was that?" She inquired, taking a risk to look over at Annabeth momentarily.

"Nothing, _Sparky," _She smirked slight, knowing that the nickname would surely push Thalia's buttons.

"Don't call me that!"

"Why?"

"You know why!"

"I do know why, well done!"

"Shut it, Chase."

Annabeth look as Thalia quizzingly, before bursting out with laughter. "Chase? Seriously, Thalia? Using my surname as a nickname, you really have fallen in standard; I must admit that I'm rather offended."

Thalia rolled her eyes, "but seriously, don't call me that again - ever."

"Sure" was all Annabeth's reply as the car pulled over. Both of them got out of the car, and began walking the rest of the way to school. Thunder booming in the distance, seeming to set off the water works in the heavens above. The thick droplets of water slapped against their skin, with both Annabeth and Thalia getting drenched very quickly, even with their futile attempt to outrun the rain as it began.

* * *

Burgess high school was one of the "newest" buildings in the town, having had an extension throughout the summer to give decent resources to the staff and students. That's why Burgess high looked so strange; the hallways rooms were all dirty and unkempt, with the locker lined up in stacks. Some would have dents in them, whilst others would be graffiti'ed to the point where the average blue could no longer be seen. The classroom's however, would be clean and orderly, with books and cupboards next to the doors and (in most) entire sides dedicated to letting natural light in. The cafeteria was nothing special, looking like any other cafeteria, and the changing rooms all smelt like BO .

Annabeth liked school for several reasons: It meant that she could learn; she could spend time with her happy, albeit lacking, friend group, and it was an escape from the over repressing view-point of her stepmother.

Growing up in Burgess, many learnt from an old age that there was a feud between religion and science in this town was like no other. Half the town - the religious side - believed every civilian should believe in God; that every child should go to church on a Sunday, that every child should pray daily, should believe in god and follow the church ("his will" they called it) in a heartbeat.

The other side - the scientific side - simply believed that everything had a reason, and that everything could be explained. She liked school because almost all the teachers were on the scientific side of things, meaning it was an escape from the step mother who was overly religious (not that she hated her , of course, it's just that it got a little annoying when you trying to do homework and your mother's preaching about god in your ear.)

The feud seemed to spike when it involved the Jackson's, the so-called "Satan worshippers" from religious people. It was sufficed to say that the religious people absolutely loathed the Jackson's, while the scientist's had an overly neutralised opinion on the matter, thankfully.

Annabeth was thankful that Thalia and herself were in the same home room, as it made things a lot less awkward than if she'd sit by herself at the back. At least with Thalia, she could act as if she wasn't a complete loner and not have to have to face the degrading looks of her peers alone – that was a plus side.

Sitting at the back, Annabeth took out her iPod and put in her headphones (because this school doesn't care what you do, as long as you get good grades) and turned it on. She flipped through her playlist, eyes idly searching for some song that could lift up this already damp day. The playlist suddenly stopped of the "S" section of the songs, showing only one song.

Seventeen Suns, it was called.

Her face scrunched up slightly in confusion. _I swear that I had more than one song in the "s" section,_ Annabeth thought, though shrugged it off. She swiped her finger downwards, deciding to look through the rest of her songs, only to find her touch screen didn't budge - not even a bit.

She frowned, trying again.

Nothing

She tried again; and again; and again. Still, nothing happened. Her frowned deepened, this was new. Thalia looked over in confusion.

"Hey, are you alright?" She poked her in the arm, trying to look Annabeth in the face clearly. "You look like you have constipation or something…" Thalia trailed off, waiting for Annabeth to reply. She did, after a few seconds of thoughtful thinking.

"Yeah… It's just my iPod – the screens damage of someth- Come on! Work you stupid thing!" She growled, swiping with more vigour each time. Several students nearby looked over at the pair with annoyed expressions, though the two were too caught up to notice.

"Okay, Okay, Annabeth!" Thalia said, quickly laying her hand over Annabeth's to stop her from actually breaking the glass. "

It's obvious your iPod want you to listen to this song" Thalia said, hoping that the sarcasm was evident enough, though added a slight chuckle at the end just to make sure. _Payback, Nothings quite like it_, She though smugly.

"Shut up!" Annabeth growled, losing her patience with the machinery in front of her. Thalia just shrugged it off, asking whether she's tried turning it on and off again. Annabeth shot her an infuriated expression; _if you're not going to say something useful, then don't say anything at all_, it seemed to say.

Thalia laughed, though decided to stop teasing Annabeth. "Look, why don't you just listen to the song? It's not like it's going to kill you or anything." Annabeth's blank expression was enough to secure Thalia's belief that even though she was one of the most intelligent people in the entire year, she was also one of the dumbest.

"Yeah, guess your right…" Thalia heard her mumble begrudgingly. Without further ado, Annabeth pressed on the song title. The lied her head on the table, like every other day.

Several seconds passed with nothing happening. Annabeth wondered for a moment whether she'd actually pressed on the song, and hadn't just imagined it.

Then it began.

Quietly at first, barely above a wisp of noise, but it was loud enough for Annabeth to distinguish it as a violin. Gradually, the violin increased in Dynamics, with other instruments finding their way into the song as well. She could make out the chill of a guitar, the preppiness of a flute, the booming of a drum.

The music itself was surprisingly good - in a Gothic, creepy kind of way; it seemed to have no definitive genre; it was strange – unnerving, more like.

It was only thirty or so seconds into the song that she realized that it wasn't drums that were making the booming noise… but the thunder outside.

That unnerved Annabeth. How was that possible? It was unheard of for music to correlate itself into natural phenomenons – hell; it technically wasn't even plausible for that to happen. And yet, here she was, listening to it unravel itself right in front of her.

The thunder went perfectly with the song, going at the same time as the beat, as if it was supposed to be there. She almost laughed at the idea, thunder being in time with a totally mundane song, it was crazy. But the more the listened – the more she really _listened_, looked out for the instruments – did she realised that thunder wasn't the only anomaly. The faint pitter-patter of rain coincided with the flute; the howling of the wind was accompanied with the guitar; even the flashing of lightning in the sky when with the sudden changes in tempo.

Okay - Now, this song was starting to scare her. She was a logical person, so the logical part of her brain was telling her that it was absolutely stupid to be scared of a song. The illogical part, however, was telling her to smash her iPod against a brick wall and run far, far away.

She listened to the logical side, of course, and continued on the strange journey. It truly was a mesmerizing song, she concluded, even if it did send her brain into emotional turmoil.

The rest of the instruments had faded back out, only leaving the violin left. Only now Annabeth couldn't hear anything aside from the violin – not the pitter-patter of rain, nor the booming of thunder, nor the hushed conversations of the students around her. Just the violin…

And a voice: Layered, yet distinctly feminine, like three women with slightly different voices speaking at the same time:

_Seventeen suns and seventeen years,_

_Hearts that turn when death appears,_

_One will be dark and one will be light,_

_The moon shall rise through the sun's great sight._

It was by that point that Annabeth decided to screw the logical side of her head and tore out the headphones, only to nearly have a heart attack due to the bell going off. "Argh!" she screamed, jerking wildly out of her dream-like state.

She turned to look at Thalia, who, in turn, had stood up and was now looking at her with worried eyes. "Are you alright, Annabeth?" she asked, continuing to look at her as she gathered her bag and stood up.

"Yeah," she didn't feel alright, not in the slightest.

"Why?" Thalia hesitated for a second as they left the classroom.

"Well, you're shaking…" she began. Annabeth frowned, tuning out Thalia slightly, and looked down at her hands to find that, she was, in fact, shaking. It wasn't enough to draw attention from any bystanders, but it was clear enough to Annabeth. She also notice how pale she was, making her frown slightly (seemed to be doing that a lot this day – and it's not even her first lesson yet!) Surely a song shouldn't be able to freak her out that much, could it? Evidently, it can she thought.

"… And you kind of look like you're going to chunder over everyone in sight." Thalia concluded. Annabeth looked up, letting out a quiet "huh?" making Thalia sigh – of course Annabeth would tune her out.

Shaking her Head, she muttered a quick goodbye before heading to her first lesson. Annabeth watched for a few seconds before she, too, headed towards her first class: History.

* * *

When Annabeth first signed up for History, she'd assumed that they be learning about history in general - The Cold War, Prohibition, the Romans et cetera. So when she found out that 1/2 of what they were going to be learning was just about Burgess in general, she felt a little cheated. Sure, the briefing had said that most of the work would be based off Burgess and its "outstanding and helpful" history, but she thought it was an exaggeration – of course, it wasn't.

Not in the slightest.

It helped that their teacher was good, with new resources at their disposal; Mr Blofis was primarily an English teacher, though when the occasion stretched - as it had this year - he would also work as a History teacher.

Whilst it was obvious to the "brighter" student that Mr Blofis actually had no clue what he was talking about, and that , yes, he was just copying from the book, he managed to hide it very well with enthusiasm and an optimistic outlook on life. Several well placed jokes also helped to lighten the mood of the classroom.

As students sat down in their usual places, Annabeth couldn't help but wonder about the song on her iPod. How did it get there? Certainly she hadn't downloaded of the internet - that kind of music had never appealed to her before.

Had her brothers installed it as a light-hearted joke? Sure, they were well-known for their pranks and mischievous behaviour, but if this kind of music could intimidate her - the fearless (aside from spiders, of course, she'd quite literally die before she touched one of them) sister - then they probably pee their pants at the song. There was also the fact that this wasn't the kind of prank they usually play; normally, the involved a lot more mess.

Deciding to focus on the now and worry about the song later, Annabeth looked on to Mr Blofis, whom was standing at the front of the room, chalk in hand.

He smiled as everyone took out their notes, before beginning.

"Today, we shall be starting from where we left off last week, talking about the family feuds that cause Burgess to liter-" three sharp raps to the door cut Mr Blofis off, causing everyone to stare at said door intently, including Mr Blofis. Even though he looked surprised, his posture was quickly regaining.

"Come in!" He called out; sounding almost weary at the intrusion. The door opened after a moment.

Standing there was a student unlike any other: he was tall, and pale, with a lean, swimmer-like build and long arms that hung loosely by his side. Short raven black hair boarded his face, his fringe spike up messily via gel or some form of hair product, and stunning sea green eyes that drifted coldly over the student body.

He donned a black hoodie that was zipped up and padded at the elbows, along with dark washed jeans and simple black converses. He was undoubtedly one of the best looking men she's ever seen, with a strong jaw line, a straight nose, and sharp features. The only problem was the look on his face; a sort of hollow, passive yet dangerous, glint in his eyes.

His arrival spiked many whispers and murmurs across the classroom. She overheard some of them from the popular's behind her:

"He's hot!"

"I bet he's gonna be a popular kid!"

"Damn. I wished I looked like that!"

"He is so mine!"

She cringed at the last one... and the one before. Yes, he was attractive, but that didn't mean you needed to throw away yourself because of it. Who was he, anyway? Did anyone know? Or were they just gawking at him?

It seemed as though Mr Blofis wanted to know as well, asking the boy for his name, to which he replied, his tone deep and alluring, holding irritation and something else...

"Percy Jackson."

* * *

**Okay, so this is the first chapter had you not guessed (even labelled it for you guys), I'd enjoy reading anything you guys want to say - excluding haters; though constructive criticism is much obliged. I feel like I should warn you that I don't update very often, so bear with me! And to those of you who've read the caster chronicles - this will be based on that book series, though not enough for it to be a crossover (and I think you need characters from both sides for it to be a crossover - I'm not sure)**

**Till next time (which will be in like a millennia or so)**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2:_

Annabeth was happy that the school day was finally over. Normally it was the other way round, with her wishing to stay for another few hours afterwards to study (she rarely do, though.) Today, however, with the thundering rain and the continuous chatter and the lack of work, meant that she was truly ready for it to be over.

She stood at the doorway, looking into the wall of droplets with a jaded expression. Every so often, thunder would boom high up in the skies; each one making students and teachers alike run faster towards their cars. But she could not leave yet, with Thalia – her ride - being told off for some ungodly reason. If it was Annabeth's car, and she actually had the keys, then she would've driven off without her (because, yes, she was an incredible friend like that.) Unfortunately, it wasn't, and so here she was, waiting for Thalia to finally be excused.

Annabeth watched as the last of the student body left in a rush, letting out a sigh as the last car drove around the corner, and the last person sprinted out of view. Now it was just her, staring into the darkened abyss: the clouds hung so low and so thick that light could not pass through properly, making is possible to mistake the afternoon for dusk; the rain fell in such dense sheets that it looks almost painful to touch; the thunder was like a drum in the sky, reverberating throughout the entirety of Burgess.

She tapped her impatiently on the concrete floor, checking her watch every few minutes: _2:40_. She suppressed a growl; for ten minutes, she'd been standing there, and she still wasn't out!

"Where are you…?" She muttered under her breath, pacing the width of the corridor. The pitter-patter of rain above had become somewhat of catalyst for her – calming her down with its perpetual rhythm – but even it could quell the annoyance growing under her sin. Had it been a fairly scarce occurrence, and Annabeth wouldn't have minded so much, but it happened so often that Annabeth simply couldn't stand it anymore.

There was a clattering from behind Annabeth, followed by the squeaking of shoes rubbing against the floor. Annabeth hung her head low, taking in a deep breath, before exhaling and looking toward the cause. "Sorry – Annabeth – sorry I'm late!" Thalia panted, taking in greedy gulps of air as she spoke.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at the sight; "so what took you so long?" she asked coldly, crossing her arms over her chest in an unimpressed manner.

It took several moments for Thalia to reply, her pants quickly becoming controlled, yet shaking breaths: "I ran –into – Grover – on the way over – seemed really – by god - why is this school so_ big_ – like – oh, can we just _go!_" She gasped out.

Annabeth sighed, realising it was the most she was going to get out of her at this time. She turned curtly back to the storm outside, determined to brave the watery bullets on their way to the car. She readied herself for the run, bringing her bag over her head as a makeshift umbrella.

"_More_ running," Thalia groaned, and then they were off. Immediately, the rain hit them like punches, bruising and buffering their skin like hail would. They exploded against Annabeth's skin, sending prickling pain through her body. In moments her clothes were no longer dry – but instead clung on to her frame like a second skin.

The run was quick – a burst of energy – but by the time they were at the convertible, they were soaked to the skin. Still, Annabeth couldn't help the gasped laugh that came out, or the wide grin that stretched over her face. The water, no matter how hard or cold it was, would still bring her some strange form of exhilaration as it hit her. It woke her up; got her senses to work faster; quicker; more potently.

Thalia's face also split into a grin, though it was broken up by her conspicuous gasping. They looked at each other, passing on their enjoyment through the glint in their eyes. A rumbling from above – louder now that they were outside – broke them out of the trance, and they quickly got into the car. Like before, the bag was thrown in first, followed by the owner. Annabeth strapped herself in, as did Thalia, before they pulled out of the car park. Thalia switched on the windshield wipers, along with the heating.

"So what were you saying – about Grover?" Annabeth asked, once they were comfortably settled.

"Oh," Thalia began, "well, he was asking about the new guy – Percy, was it? – I tried to tell him I was running late!" she explained quickly, seeing the look on Annabeth's face. She sighed, before continuing: "he seemed really… I don't know – jumpy? More so than usual," Annabeth mmm'ed at the information, looking out the window at the darkened houses and gardens.

"You're not listening, are you?" Thalia said, casting a quick, yet amused, look in Annabeth's direction. "No, I am listening!" she replied indignantly, getting a breathy laugh from her peer.

Annabeth heard Thalia mumbled something along the lines of "Sure you were," but ignored it.

There was a moment when all they could hear was the pitter-patter of rain, before Thalia spoke up: "So do you want to go to Sandy's?" she asked, this time not taking her eyes off the road.

"What, and die even more from food poisoning? Sure." Annabeth replied idly, tracing her index finger over the glass. "I swear, we joke about it, but one day it's actually going to happen," she added as an afterthought.

She heard Thalia hum in agreement. "Yeah… it's gonna' be a bummer when it actually happens, won't it?"

"What gave it away?" Annabeth mumbled under her breath, though Thalia didn't seem to hear her.

"So what do you think of the new kid?" Thalia asked quietly, changing the subject. Annabeth perked up at the question, not expecting her of all people to be curious about him.

"Alright, I guess," she spoke at last, "haven't really talked to him, so I can't really say for sure. I don't know," she said with a shrug, "he just seems to keep to himself – and I can respect that."

Thalia seemed contempt with the answer, turning into Sandy's with a small smile decorating her features.

"I heard he's hot," Thalia said, glancing at Annabeth for confirmation.

Annabeth bobbed her head in agreement: "yeah, he is." She smiled suddenly, remembering what had happened at the end of history. "Nancy's reaction was hilarious, though. She was waiting outside History for him– probably to bully him or something, knowing Nancy. But as soon as he walked out, her face dropped, and you could just tell she was thinking '_Oh shit_' – it was so funny to watch as she began stuttering and trembling in her place," She said, earning a snappy laugh from Thalia.

"I bet that put her in her place," she replied, smirking. Neither of them liked Nancy Bobofit. She would continuously tattle and tease whoever she could, which meant that she often had more enemies than she did friends. She would've bullied the two of them, had it not been for Thalia's Devil-May-Care attitude and Annabeth's ability to unnerve almost anyone who came into range.

Annabeth, bobbing her head in agreement, turned to Thalia. "Should we go?" she asked, pointing her thumb out the window. She got a slightly reluctant nod from Thalia, the rain still smashing itself against the car without mercy.

They quickly got out of the car, and sprinted towards the fast food restaurant. The rain seemed to fall at an even faster rate; ice-cold to the point where Annabeth actually thought it was hail. The door was thrown open as soon as they got close, allowing them to get out of the rain as quickly as possible. They were instantly met with the deranged shouts from the door holder: "what on earth are you thinking?! It's pouring outside!"

Annabeth turned to the owner of the voice – the lovable Jake Sanderson. A plump man, he was, but many found that it made him all the more lovable. His bronze hair stuck out in adjacent angles, with eyes like that of burnt almond. His pale skin was laced with burns, which many had speculated as being from burning oil. It was a shame that he wasn't very good at his job, since he was such a nice person, Annabeth thought.

"_We noticed_," Thalia muttered.

Jake shot her an un-amused look, shaking his head in disappointment. "You're gonna catch a cold if you carry on like that," he said, slamming the door shut, cutting off the howling wind and rain.

He then signed, moved over to the counter, and began wiping it off. "I suppose I should be thankful for the company, though – no-one's come in all day," he admitted. "I was just about to close up, actually," he added as an afterthought.

Annabeth looked around, realizing that, as he had said, the place looked nearly deserted: the tables had been wiped down, with the stalls placed on top of them. The floor was swept and the chemical smell of disinfectant hung in the hair. Like he had said, it looked like he was just about to leave.

"So we're the only ones who've come in today?" Thalia asked, already knowing the answer.

He nodded impatiently. "That's what I said, didn't I? It's this stupid storms fault – I swear, there shouldn't be this much water in clouds at one time - Bloody ridiculous how there was no warning, as well. Just seemed to come out of no-where."

Annabeth's brow furrowed together. "Yeah…It is quite strange for the month… ah, well," she shrugged it off – it was nothing to worry about. She went over to one of the window seats, Thalia close at hand, and sat. Jake immediately came over, leaning on the table on his forearms, posture relaxed and inviting.

"So what can I get you two?" Jake asked warmly, not bothering to get out a notebook.

"I will have a chocolate milkshake, please," Thalia said slowly, pronouncing each word with a small pause after it, sounding uncertain. He nodded, turning his head to look over at Annabeth.

"I'll have the same," She said quickly with a curt nod. Again, he nodded, before leaving to get their orders, silence overcoming the two.

Annabeth look out of the window wistfully, staring into the car park, where only two cars looked back. The rain showed no signs of letting up, and Annabeth could hear the wind howling outside, along with the trees rattling as well – the noise made her shudder. Thunder continued to pretentiously boom overhead, and Annabeth wondered why she hadn't seen any lightning yet.

Jake distracted her from her thoughts momentarily, coming over with their drinks.

"Enjoy," He said with a smile. But before he went off to continue his work, his eyes seemed to catch on to something outside, as he turned and squinted into the distance.

Annabeth and Thalia followed his gaze, trying to find out what he was looking at. It turned out to not be that difficult, as she immediately noticed the man walking across their vision. He was tall and pale and his hood was up, shielding the face from view. She could see the man's hand, having what looked to be a tattoo inked on to the back of it– she couldn't make out what it was.

"What the hell is he doing?" Jake whispered, more to himself, but loud enough for the other two to hear.

"I have no idea," Annabeth murmured back, not taking her eyes of the man. She managed t quickly pick up little details about him; the long strides, the graceful movements, the strangely upright posture and…

She squinted a little harder, leaning in to get a closer look. _That's new_, she thought, leaning even closer so that her face was pressed against the glass. She swore there were little disturbances around the man: as if the rain was bending around the person at the last second - but that was impossible. She closed her eyes and shook her head, thinking – _believing -_ it was simply her mind playing tricks.

Annabeth turned to Jake, only to catch him striding towards the door with a serious expression. He took a quick detour to behind the counter, in which he pulled out a bright yellow unbrella, before walking over to the Door. She watched in curiosity, already having a guess at what he was planning to do. The door was swung open a moment late, followed by the loud, booming voice of Jake, calling over the raging storm: "Oi, You!"

The hooded man turned slightly, somehow hearing him over booming thunder. For a moment nothing happened - neither Jake nor the man moved a muscle. Then the rain seemed to intensify: the wind pushing droplets of water through the open door, shooting and slamming through the room and straight into Jake. It rippled through the opening, carrying with in not only the water, but the screeching of deranged souls; moaning and groaning filled up Annabeth's ears. Jake, taken by surprise, was blown back, tumbling and tripping backwards, falling painfully on to his back .

Thalia instantly shot up, running (more like sliding, from all the rain water) to the open door and slamming it shut, pushing against the force of nature. Annabeth ran to Jake, helping him off the floor. In a few moments he was back on to his feet, shaky from the event, with the door rattling from the contained storm. Annabeth led him over to the window seat, Thalia flanking her, before gently pushing him into the seat.

He was in shock, it seemed: looking around with a glazed expression, not saying a word; his mouth parted slightly in what could only be confusion. Annabeth took a moment to look out the window for any signs of the man, but as she suspected, he'd gone. The rain still rattled against the windows and walls and doors, but it seemed to calm down from its momentary rage.

"What happened?" Jake said at long last. His brow furrowed in pain; "I mean, where's the boy?"

"You scared him off," Thalia said bluntly, though not unkindly.

"How did I scare him off?" He asked, sounding strangely like a child when he did; with the confusion and hurt evident in his voice.

"I don't know – you can be pretty intimidating at first glance," Annabeth replied sincerely. "He probably panicked," she added as an afterthought.

Jake then clutched his head in pain, coinciding with a soft groan. "I think you two should better go. You can take your drinks – it's on the house," He said lightly, standing shakily on his feet.

Both Thalia and Annabeth casted him a worried glance as they left, but decided not to argue. They quickly ran back to the car, drinks in hand, before setting off home. The car ride was silent, and the only sound from inside was that of slurping drinks. The storm never once let up, throughout the entire day, and when Annabeth go home, lying on her bed of all places, she had to wonder – Who was that hooded man?

* * *

Before school had even started the next day, Percy Jackson was all anyone at Burgess could talk about. His story had just about everything you'd ever want in a tale: the crazy parent; the mysterious back story; the good looks. Between thunderstorms and power outages, the entire populace of Burgess had heard about the suddenly infamous outcast. Almost everyone knew about the Jackson's spouse going around town, driving some sort of sports car that people were convinced had been stolen (because rich people can't buy pricey things in this town.) And the tale just got wilder then on out.

To be honest, Annabeth wasn't even that surprised by the turn of events. A new guy in town, living within a supposed haunted house with a family of Satan worshipers – now that's a story. So it was no surprise that everyone wanted in on it, especially after hearing about the recent turn of events – how he was the 'hottest man to grace the halls of Burgess High.' But that didn't seem to help his social reputation, as even the nerds and the geeks wanted to know the story, believing that there was someone below them on the social status.

"I can't believe they're talking about him like a piece of meat," Thalia spat out, slamming the door of her convertible behind her. The sun beat down upon them, with the storm from yesterday seeming to of cleaned up nicely.

Annabeth remained silent, but agreed with Thalia point of view no less. She'd had the pleasure of listening to some of the more popular girls talking about him, and quickly felt disgusted to be even near them afterwards. It had become abundantly obvious that, had the boy not been so attractive, there'd probably already be a cult formed with the aim of making Percy Jackson's life a living hell.

"I mean, what the hell is wrong with these people – one minute they hate him, until – of course – they find out that – Oh! He's actually good-looking - and then suddenly it's all sunshine and rainbows and all that shi-!"

"Language, Thalia," Annabeth cut in, not bothering to look up from her iPod as she chose a new song to listen to.

Thalia threw her hands up into the air in exasperation, before sighing.

Before Thalia could snap back a reply, though, someone interrupted in a deep, distinctly sarcastic voice: "well, it's nice to that not everyone views me as a piece of meat."

Annabeth and Thalia whirled round to look at the owner of the voice, already having a very good idea of who it was. As expected, standing there, with what could've been a glare or his regular look, was Percy Jackson. He was just as how Annabeth remembered him from yesterday: dark clothed, pale skinned, green-eyed and sharp featured.

He stood a few steps down from them, and yet was tall enough to look both Annabeth and Thalia clearly in the eye. Thalia stood there, staring at the man before her, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

His eyes narrowed slightly at the pair; "Do you mind?" He snapped, shoving his way past the two of them. The gesture broke Thalia out of her trance, with her face pinching together into a frown, followed by a clear snort from her. "I take it back," she said, glaring at Percy's retreating figure, "he deserves to be treated like meat."

Annabeth grinned widely, a disgustingly hilarious thought entering her mind. "Oh? So you want to eat him, do you?" She teasing, her eyebrows rising and falling suggestively. It took Thalia a moment to comprehend what Annabeth had just said, her face going from a blank anger before it was washed off to reveal a bright and colourful blush, with her face becoming outraged: pinched together and scrunched up.

"Annabeth Chase!" She exclaimed, "How dare – you little –"a laugh broke Thalia off before she even begun.

"Language," She repeated, which, being accompanied by a song-like tone made Thalia positively seething as they entered the school building.

Thalia began to mutter words under her breath – insults, most likely, but Annabeth left her be. Thalia knew she was joking, so it was all fine; she was probably more upset about Percy than she was with her, anyway.

It was then that Annabeth noticed how the hallway, which was usually crammed with people rushing to their lockers and trying to make it to class, was unnaturally silent. Every student was crushed into the sides - into the lockers and doors and walls - leaving a gaping pathway straight to class.

Annabeth and Thalia stood there awkwardly; the only two who weren't being squished slowly by human bodies. Normally, both would feel awkward, thinking that all the attention that was on them. But the attention wasn't on them, for once. No, it was on the green-eyed teenager, throwing books with callous disregard into his dark red rucksack. Every person in the room watched intently at the man's movements – some were glaring, some were curious, some were just staring.

He turned around, slamming the locker door shut, before striding off down the corridor, completely disregarding the staring onlookers. There was a second, at the very end of the corridor before it split off in two, which he turned and let his eyes glaze over the crowd. His vision landed on Annabeth, and a cold chill went down her spine. _How on earth could a person's eyes be so bright?_ She wondered idly. They looked almost unnatural against his pale skin and jet black hair, and yet they worked so well for him.

The moment he turned out of vision, the low hum of whispering passed through to Annabeth's ears. The student body gradually began to disperse, thinning out over time.

"Hey, let's go," Thalia murmured to her.

She took several steps forward, before noticing that Annabeth wasn't following. Thalia turned to find her staring at the space where Percy had once stood, seemingly stuck in daydreams.

There was something about the new kid that seemed so familiar to Annabeth – and she couldn't put her finger on it. It unnerved her like the feeling when listening to that mysterious song (she concluded that it was a glitch in iTunes, and a pure coincidence that it coincided with the storm) and when looking into a thunder-storm – like an uncontrollable force waiting to blow.

"Annabeth?" Thalia asked; worry etched into her face. She shook he shoulder, breaking Annabeth out of her daze.

She looked at Thalia as if just realising she was here, "Yeah," she said, squeezing her eye in concentration, "let's go."

* * *

**Now, I have never done this before, so you're gonna have to bear with me, but I shall now respond to your reviews (because I'm so very awesome like that:) - actual smiley face, not just by accident:**

**angrybirds4819 - **Why thank you :)

**AwesomestPerson - **mmm, I can agree with you on that point - about there not being exceptional ones around as much - but, then again, I'm not really looking that hard, so I don't know. And yeah, I can also see Annabeth saying something like that :D

**Luna082 - **Thank you :), and yeah, its based on the caster chronicles. But I changed some things, because If you have awesome taste like me, and you've read the books, then it would be quite predictable

**BluemoonAR - **You have no idea how much of a compliment that is to me! I've always sort of wanted to write as a side job when I'm older (only 15) and so being told I could actually do it is really nice :)

**PercabethxEverlarkxJessa - **I'm also excited to see where it goes...

**the real AnnaBAMFchase - **Yes, it's very intriguing - be intruiged!

**That's all, remember to Favourite, Follow and Review (mainly review) and read my other fanfics, then all would be obliged. And, can someone help with coming up for a new summary, 'cause I already don't like the one I've got. That being said, please don't be offended if I don't choose your one (if I choose one at all) - my mind changes very quickly and its sort of a strange issue with me...**

**'till next time,**


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